Live rock n’ roll shows come in so many flavors: Indoor, Outdoor, Festivals, Arenas, football stadiums, house parties, dive bars, Red Rocks, the Pyramids, on and on. While I thoroughly enjoy the acoustics of arena and club shows, nothing beats seeing one of your favorite bands in an intimate venue no matter where it is.
I vividly remember being at work when my weekly bandsintown email came in that Moon Taxi was playing Brick Kitchen. (pause). (No fucking way.) What is this Brick Kitchen place? I know all the music venues in Charleston and I had no f’n clue what Brick Kitchen was. (google immediately). Ok…it’s a place off Folly road. (Still got nothing). Their website is a blank slate in regards to pictures and past events. Hmm. Google Earthing it still proved nothing but whatever…I remember seeing a stage when I had driven by in the past.
What made me giddy about Moon Taxi was I happened to catch them in Bonnaroo last summer. That’s right. A band that plays major stages at festivals is playing this tiny forest bar in Chucktown. I texted every single person in my contact list, but they had never heard of Moon Taxi.
Me: “Really?”
Them: “Yea”
Me: “Come to this show. They play festivals…..you’re seeing a major band in a small ass venue. Nothing… NOTHING going on this next 5 hours in Charleston anywhere will beat what’s happening at this joint.”
Them: “Who is this again?”
Me: Just come. (click).
Is it worth my time selling the fact Moon Taxi’s gigs the last year include Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Austin City Limits, Volapalooza, Beale Street Music Festival, and Hangout? This year they have Firefly, Billboard’s Hot 100 Music Fest, Lockn, and Forecastle.
I’ve since thrown Daybreaker on repeat in my house and it’s been morphine addictive. We can all relate to having significant others, especially my girlfriend, that play terrible Pandora. I pulled the plug and let Daybreaker play through. My girl was begging for more.
What’s great about shows like this is it’s all music heads. The vibe of this show was a mini Bonnaroo minus the drugs, beach balls, and high fives, which sounds lame but the clientele was exactly the same. Beautiful people, lots of beer, and a hungry crowd ready to release. Something magical was about to happen. The opening band, Stop Light Observations, played an impressive set, but as Moon Taxi smoothly took the stage…that oh so familiar Bonnaroo smell and rowdiness came over the crowd. It was on.
Concerts are impossible to articulate. How can I possibly explain Wes Bailey’s three minute keyboard solo for All Along the Watchtower…where he’s hitting the keys like he gets $5 for every note in sync and $20 for each key that gets pounded at full strength? Hair flying…guitars wailing…this is why Moon Taxi is at every festival. When the band members are having just as much fun as the crowd….it’s platonic, group sex.
So, Tommy Putnam, what do you do when a semi-attractive girl jumps on the stage for a third time after being kicked off twice? Laugh…shrug off security…and keep rocking. Special night complete.
Set List:
- Mercury
- Change
- Run Right Back
- Make your Mind Up
- Who’s to Say
- Beaches
- Savannah
- River Water
- Whiskey Sunsets
- Red Hot Lights
- Morocco
- All Along the Watchtower (cover)
- All Day All Night
- New Black
- Year Zero
- Sleep Now in the Fire (cover)
Videos and Pictures
All Along the Watchtower
Run Right Back:
A video posted by Charlie Vance (@chucky_v) on
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